Library Days

Our Community Library hosted Library Days recently.

The library was all decked out in super fun balloons sculptures for the occasion.

There were door prizes for the kids. Graham received a magnet drawing board. Ethan and Zach got really nice water bottles. Ethan was super excited that he got a watch and wasn't too fussed that it didn't work. He wore it religiously for two days until it completely fell apart.

I think the boys are finally "getting it" that it's fun to get these little prizes at community functions but they just aren't quite up to snuff. Graham brought this one to our attention last night from the gift he received at the Garden Show a few months ago. Zach was appalled when he saw it saying, "That's not a Yeti! Everyone knows they're evil disgusting monsters of the mountains." He should know as he's been writing a book about a Yeti on Mt. Everest, borrowing books about Yetis from the library, and basically obsessing about them ever since he was chased by one our trip to the Animal Kingdom.

To inspire reading and writing they had two nights of writing competitions by grade level and a 90 hour reading challenge.

Also, there was a table set up with Korans dating back hundreds of years. Honestly I didn't get close enough to take a picture. Many were very fragile and in poor condition. The last thing I wanted to do was have Ethan and Graham pulling them off the table or trying to look at them.

We did stop to look at some very nice encyclopedias for sale. I was tempted to buy them but when I thought about how fast current events change and the ease of internet access. I just didn't want them gathering dust on our limited shelf space. Plus we bought Zach an American History Book for kids last summer, which he loves, and that is keeping him busy when not otherwise occupied.

An Evening Under The Stars

What do get when you combine, not one but......

two blue fiber optic lit mullet wigs and......
some pocket pen lights!
LUMANOS RAMONOS!
(Translation)
A two minute lighting extravaganza (pen lights behind our ears, in our mouths, and up our noses) all while rocking out to Blitzkreig Bop by the Ramones. Our act didn't really consist of much and we expected and hoped to be gonged after about thirty seconds.
But when the MC, just hours before the show, asked me if we had a grand finale finish I said, "Sure, of course." Then I frantically drove home wracking my brain for a finale to top it all off just in case the judges were amused by our performance and didn't gong us.
We decided that if we made it the entire 2 minutes, which sadly we did because the judges were so generous and didn't even try to reach for the gong, we'd end our performance by sticking our own pen lights up each others noses.

I think we really surprised the crowd with our hidden talents. The pen light part came to me one night while I couldn't sleep. Not sure if the sleepless night had anything to do with the fact I signed us up for the event with a requirement of mandatory participation to attend. When people kept asking me if we'd come up with an act I responded, "Put it this way. We don't sing, play instruments, dance well, or do magic, so it will be something completely unique and original."

Mission Accomplished!
Some people had "Boots Made For Walking" along with matching leopard print hats found at a junk/rest stop/convenience type store that is even more remote in the desert than we are.
Sunny and Cher stopped by.....
and then we saw an African Tribal Rich Man's Dance,
which happened to be the only real talent of the night.
There was a reenactment of a dog vs. rat vs. sticky trap...
where the dog ended up having massive facial hair removed when the sticky trap was pulled from his face. And the rat, well, it got its head chopped off with an axe by the lovely lady below while trying to escape; all before breakfast.
There was some kind of funky chicken act....
which thankfully did get Gonged.
A bit of bribing of the judges.....
didn't keep this hoe down from gettin' the Gong either.
We had a shocking Adam Sandler Christmas Special...
followed up by a Smashing Love Ballad. The only problem was, the one serenading wasn't serenading his own wife as she was out of town.
Instead he chose to serenade the bouncer's wife (seen below in black) and when he couldn't take it any more grabbed the guitar and smashed it to bits on the stage. It was hilarious after we all realized it was all part of the act.
Thanks to our MCs/Cheerleaders/good friends the Remsburgs we had a
Night To Remember Under the Stars.
One last note. The judges were awesome giving us feed back ala "American Idol" style. When they first discussed how and when they would gong us one judge in particular was adamant that he would gong any terrible act ASAP. But when it came down to it he said it was really hard to gong his friends and really struggled to do it.

Explosive Situation

Now for some serious catch up.

In between weekly Shamals (sandstorms), occasional thunder storms, and crazy wind we've had some very pleasant days. Until three days ago that is and now it's 105 every day.

But a few weeks ago when it wasn't too bad we had a special visitor at story time.

Our K9 unit brought it's newest and youngest and very enthusiastic bomb sniffer for a visit.

With an audience of young children we thought they'd bring and older more relaxed dog. There were quite a mix of emotions, a few tears but mostly smiles, as this dog just wanted to work and play. Playing catch with a tennis ball is his reward for finding explosives.

The consensuses among the moms was that is was weird and a bit creepy to have explosives hidden in the toddlers play area. But when they brought the dog out he went right to work and knew immediately there was something there and went right to it under the merry go round and sat down. The children who wanted to participate got to throw the balls for him as his reward.

Glad to know the bomb sniffer knows his stuff. Sad to think we even need them.

The Hunt

All I can say is Mr. EB came through this year.

Can you tell by the bed heads that he came in the morning?

This way the chocolate didn't have time to become an ooey gooey mess.

No basket full of goodies just a good ole morning egg hunt followed by boiled eggs and chocolate for breakfast.

With a special Savior centered Family Home Evening after dinner.

This (below) is why the Savior Sacrificed his life for us. So we could come to earth and experience this life. I am so in love with these 3 little guys and my one big guy not shown here. We love being their parents and having the responsibility of teaching them and helping them understand why we are here on this earth, where we are going after this life, and the significance the life and death of our Savior plays in it.

The SAEA also held a community egg hunt the day after Easter. Hundreds of kids, of all nationalities, scoured the park for little pink, yellow, and blue treasures. As per usual it was to start at 4:30 and for those of us that showed up on time.....we were already too late. Zach didn't even want to come because he knew it would be a disappointment if he didn't find any.

Ethan somehow scored a few eggs and sweetly shared them with Graham. Some kids weren't so lucky but got over it quickly and just played and ate and hung out till the chocolate gift bags showed up and were handed out.

Some of the kids kept telling Ethan this wasn't a good idea. I thought, "Oh well at least he's got his helmet on."

It's Official

He's now a Gas man!

According to my sister he's unofficially always been a Gas man but now it's official.

When we returned from Spring Break Chris found out his division had been dissolved including his new position as a Stimulation Engineer. Now 3 weeks later it has been decided he will move from Oil Production to Gas Production, which will be hopefully a good change.....
only time will tell.

And one last thing.....

Make your own free digital greeting

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Red Fish Blue Fish We've Got A Little Fish

Is anyone else tired of hearing about this trip?

I am!

Leaving Universal Studios wasn't as easy as we'd hoped after our Magical Morning in Hogsmead. The shortest route to the exit is through Dr. Seuss Land.

This really is one of the most fun Carousels around because of the unique Seuss Characters.

Ethan rode it a least 6 smile filled times. We also spent a few minutes shopping and spinning around on some other kiddie rides. But then we were just done. Done, DONE, DONE with amusement parks, rides, and the lines that comes with these places.

....................................................

One Fish Two Fish...

We discovered we've got a Little Fish!

Who is fearless!!!

Since the pool rule changes we haven't really taken Graham to the pool. We didn't know that he is FEARLESS, doesn't mind going under, can blow bubbles, will dive in, or jump off the edge backwards until this trip.

...................................................

The whole trip I kept looking at this gorgeous red hair and wondered what a few of my curly hair products might do.

WOW!!!

See what a little
Big and Sexy Root Pump Plus
and
Big and Sexy Curl Power Spray Foam
and diffusing it upside down did.

Just look at these LUSCIOUS LOCKS of red!
Who would not want that hair and with those cheek bones and full lips?
I didn't find the right product for my curls until after collage. I spent way to many years with limp or frizzed out curls and worse those wet looking crunchy curls. Those days are gone for me and I'm so glad I could pass this info on to my niece who will be a tween before we know it.

Apparently, the day she went out like this people could not and would not leave her alone. She went to ooh and ahh at all the Princesses at the Magic Kingdom and instead everyone kept oohing and ahhhing at her.

The Magical World of Harry Potter

I'm not sure who was more excited about visiting HP World....the Moms and Dads or the kids.

In all truthfulness I think it was the Moms and then the Dads and then the kids.

Is it too much to say this was a dream come true? Not that I felt I've had no purpose in life before visiting, but come on! For those of us that have loved the books for so many years we've all had dreams about being a part of that magical world if only for a day.

Unfortunately everyone else in the park had the same idea. As we walked towards Hogsmead so did everyone else.

Only a few, and I mean very few people drifted in other directions. Reggie and Lauren took this opportunity to ride some adult coasters on the other side of the park and met up with us later.

Had we known that the crowds and long lines would only last until mid day we would have maybe changed our plans a bit. But there was really no way of knowing.

In reality there was no place else I wanted to be than waiting in the immensely long line sipping the divine shortbread and butterscotch concoction better known as Butterbeer. I brought back as many of the Icee and regular versions as I could carry to the line.

After we knocked back a few of the Butterbeers we could get back to focusing on the magnificent scenes around every corner.

To help the parents not go crazy we played a game of Harry Potter ABC's in line for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

If felt so real inside the castle: talking pictures, advice from the sorting hat, bad singing from the Fat Lady, and after speaking with Harry, Hermione, and Ron it began to snow....inside the castle. The ride itself was the longest most intense ride I have ever been on. I actually closed my eye in fright a few times...thankfully I missed the big snake.

Then it was time for the Wand to choose Zach. For months he had saved and then passed up almost every other tempting purchase during the trip in order to buy a wand. All along he said he intended to buy Dumbledore's wand.

But as we walked along feeling each one it was Hermione's that chose him. If I had purchased one, and I was tempted, it would have been Professor Lupin's.

This was a we're out of Pumpkin Juice, or Butterbeer, or I want a wand too melt down. I don't honestly remember now. He was still very sick so you really can't blame the little guy.

The tricky part about this day was that Ethan did not meet the height requirements for most of the rides. So that meant a lot of standing in line with nothing to do except harasses his immediate and extended family. But can you blame the kid? He hasn't read the books and only seen snippets of the movies- since he hasn't read the books. So what else was there to do?

Hiding in this nest is a giant Hippogriff.

Just look at the smile on Ethan's face here. Finally something he could do.

By this time we were ready for a feast.....

and there was no place better than the 3 Broomsticks.

The set up inside was very well organized and went smoothly considering how crowded of a day it was.

And feast we did. There is also a giant family salad that goes along with this meal. Of course we washed it all down with a few more Butterbeers. So glad they didn't stick with a traditional British menu because for park food this was really good....especially the ribs.

After lunch we separated, the Jenkins to Honeydukes and the Slocombe/Hamms to Olivander's Wand Shop.

Zonko's was a delight where you could adopt fuzzy pets or buy extend-able ears.

We missed the show but caught a glimpse of wizarding students from Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbaton.

The boys decided on enormous chocolate frogs with collectible wizard cards inside. Meanwhile Chris and I shared a chocolate cauldron and some mini mint chocolate frogs.

It did feel as though a magic spell was cast upon us that morning, playing a game of Quiditch, escaping the Dementor's Kiss, being chased by a fire breathing dragon amongst other things..... if only for a few hours.